


Unwind

by Nununununu



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien/Human Relationships, Don't copy to another site, Feelings, First Time, Getting to Know Each Other, Interspecies, Learning to people, M/M, Masturbation, Mutualism, Telepathic Bond, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:35:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22139419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nununununu/pseuds/Nununununu
Summary: Eddie discovers Venom has issues with relaxing. And with being vulnerable. Although he's definitely not ever that.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Comments: 37
Kudos: 420
Collections: Marvel Universe, Venom Holiday Exchange 2019





	Unwind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [monicawoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/monicawoe/gifts).



> For the prompt _"the longer Eddie and Venom are joined, the more their thoughts start to merge. Venom always knows what Eddie is thinking, but now Eddie is starting to hear Venom's thoughts as well."_
> 
> Mild TW for implied PTSD and references to past non-graphic trauma and the violent culture on Klyntar.
> 
> (Originally posted 06.01, date adjusted to match author reveal)

“ _Ahhh._ ”

It’s the first time since the rocket, since Drake and Riot and getting his body hijacked and stabbed through the midriff and all of that _really quite unpleasant_ shit that Eddie has had the opportunity to just collapse in his grubby sweatpants on the couch, kick his feet up over the arm, and lean back and relax with a beer in hand.

“Oh fuck that's better,” It feels so good to finally plant his ass down, he practically wants to propose to the couch. Or possibly hump it, but – you know. Alien goo hitching a ride in his head and all that.

Anyway, the TV’s playing some game show on low in the background. A couple of empty pizza boxes are pushed to one side and Venom’s gnawing on the last chicken wing, bones cracking between all those teeth in a way he seems to find weirdly pleasurable, at least going by the low rumbling noise he’s making and if Eddie’s any kind of a judge of these things. Which –

Well. They haven’t had the opportunity to just kick back together before. Since the moment they bonded, it's been all terror and adrenaline and stuff just happening nonstop up until now. So maybe Eddie’s just projecting, given that personally he’s extremely determined to _finally_ relax, and that knot in his spine and the churning throb that’s been lodged for what feels like forever at the back of his skull seem like they might let up on him at long last.

**_Hmmm._ **

After a while of Eddie shutting his eyes and doing absolutely nothing, beer can propped on his stomach and his thoughts on his breathing and nothing else, his nose starts to itch with a low grade awareness of –

Something. A feeling, like he’s being stared at. He winches one eyelid open semi-resentfully. And yup, there’s his funky alien symbiote right in his face, massive razor-sharp fangs and all.

“ _Gah shit, Venom_ –”

To his credit, Eddie only starts and flails a little, and manages not to drop his drink. His chest only cramping with something that feels like a minor heart attack, in comparison to that first time Venom had manifested and Eddie had been cold and soaking wet and terrified.

To Venom’s credit, this time he just hangs there without doing anything more threatening than just being a gigantic toothy predator from outer space, and Eddie gets the impression he might even be snickering at his host internally.

“Can’t you give a guy a little space?” He brings his free hand up as if to shove at the Klyntar, but holds back at the last second, not quite sure he wants to risk said hand being chomped off. Venom would _probably_ regrow it, Eddie’s fairly sure, but – yeah. Better just not to go there in the first place. 

**_No._ **

As such, he just squints in mild irritation in response to Venom’s _entirely_ unsurprising answer. There goes that knot of tension in his spine, wound right back up tight. The silence stretches and Venom just continues to stare at him.

“Ugh,” Eddie breaks first. He always breaks first. “ _What?_ ”

**_What are you doing._** Venom doesn’t ask this like it’s a question. He always seems set to make out like he’s so sure of everything, so it’s kind of funny to think he doesn’t know the answer for once.

“What do you think I’m doing,” Eddie therefore answers, just to annoy. He insistently shuts his eyes again. Surely Venom can work it out.

He gets back to attempting to sink into the couch cushions, difficult as it is with the feeling of the Klyntar _breathing on him_. Venom doesn’t even need to breathe – he has to be doing it on purpose.

Just as Eddie’s starting to frown at the feeling of a tension headache brewing, body preparing to give up and shove itself upwards so he can stomp off to bed, Venom finally relents.

**_Hmmm._ **

The feeling of the Klyntar zipping himself back inside his host’s body is like – like – well, sort of like a goo version of silly putty being sucked up into a straw, perhaps. Which makes Eddie's body the straw. Which is kind of weird. And, you know, thinking about bodies – or, rather, body parts – sucking things up like straws, this one time back when Eddie was an impressionable teen, he saw this dude on a late night trash TV show sucking up soda with his dick –

**_Eddie?_ **

“Nothing,” Grunting, Eddie twitches a hand down to furtively adjust his balls, decides he might as well give up on relaxing and slope off to attempt some sleep. Draining his beer and tossing the can vaguely in the direction of the trash, he does so, ignoring Venom’s snicker when it bounces off the wall.

**_Lame._ **

“Yeah, thanks,” Eddie’s all set to pretending his symbiote pain in the ass doesn’t exist, when Venom grumbles

**_Why do you make yourself purposefully vulnerable._ **

He also sneaks out a little tentacle to scoop up the can and deposit it into the trash, which is –

“Huh.”

Surprisingly helpful.

“What makes you think I’m vulnerable?” Eddie blusters and rolls his eyes at his symbiote’s immediate snort, “Yeah, yeah.”

**_You felt – different, when you were lying on the couch,_** Venom is apparently feeling in a chatty mood – now Eddie’s getting ready to sleep, **_Even softer than usual._**

“Maybe because I was _trying to relax_ ,” Eddie says pointedly as he angles himself down onto his crap mattress and fishes a hand around to yank the covers messily over himself.

**_What’s that,_** Venom not-asks, which says a whole lot, and then Eddie can’t help but be aware of him for the _hours_ they then lie there completely failing to go to sleep – the way that even here in Eddie’s apartment where they are nowadays _safe_ , his Klyntar is nonetheless still on alert, still primed to respond at once to attack, still –

“Will you quit it?” Eddie shoves the heel of his hand into his face. Has Venom seriously never just – stopped anticipating violence or whatever for one second?

_Of course not,_ Venom responds, but it’s different somehow – oddly like he’s thinking this to himself, rather than intending to share it with Eddie, _Because then I would be dead._

Eddie blinks at the dark ceiling.

“Huh,” he repeats.

\--

So it becomes a challenge of sorts to teach his symbiote to relax. And Eddie, you know, is generally pretty good at relaxing – or he used to be – so he doesn’t really know why they’re finding this quite so difficult.

For his own sake, if anything, he needs to wind down or else he’s going to end up screaming.

“You know no one’s going to break in on us again and – and try to – to _eat_ us or something,” Eddie says the next morning, when they’re tense and unrested in his lumpy bed and he’s put on one of the meditation CDs Mrs Chen gave him, and it turns out Venom knows a whole lot of languages, but all of them are from alien races he previously failed to bond with or ate. Still, even so, that doesn’t really help with either of them understanding Chinese.

**_If I were to infiltrate Mrs Chen’s body, we could learn Chinese by copying the information from her brain,_** is Venom’s idea of a helpful suggestion, which is –

“No,” Eddie nearly sits upright in bed, a move his stomach muscles definitely object to. His bladder also twinges a protest. Ugh. “You’re not eating Mrs Chen.”

Or ‘infiltrating her body’, which – yeah, Eddie’s not going there.

**_Of course I wouldn’t!_** His symbiote projects sulky agreement, but Eddie can hear him thinking, clear as anything, _Only a little._

“You’re _not eating Mrs Chen_ ,” Eddie insists, firmer, and tips out of bed uncomfortably, grimacing at the discovery that most of the muscles in his back and shoulders now feel like they’ve locked up.

Giving up on the CD, he hobbles off to the shower and manages only to sigh a little bit at the thought that Venom might just take it upon himself to – to bite Eddie’s dick off or something, were his host to attempt his favourite way to relax. A little friendly time with his hand would make everything so much better right now –

**_Eddie?_ **

“Nothing,” Shedding his sweatpants, Eddie ignores the ache in his balls as he clambers into the shower.

Venom pokes his head out from behind Eddie’s shoulder as he gets the water going, and attempts to wind down to get a look at the body part his host was just thinking about.

“Nope!” Eddie does grab at his symbiote’s head then without thinking, a little shock going through them both at the unexpected contact if Venom’s mental jerk of surprise is anything to go by. Gritting his teeth as his hands slide over – over – Eddie can’t describe what his goo alien feels like exactly, distracted by the amount of teeth – _so many teeth_. The water’s puttering over them, steam starting to curl around them as the shower heats, and Eddie’s naked as Venom glances up at his face, the symbiote’s big deadly head still so, so close to –

**_Hmph. Vulnerable,_** Venom concludes, as if Eddie purposefully designed his body so his, ah, most precious bits are on the outside.

“Hey come on, when've you ever known humans to make sense?” Eddie shrugs, “And besides, _no one’s going to break in on us and_ –”

**_Try to eat us,_** Venom finishes, in such a tone of voice that gives the impression he’s rolling his eyes, **_Of course they wouldn’t. We would eat_ them _before they could eat_ us.**

“Not the point, Venom!” Eddie grabs for the shower gel, shaking it a bit in emphasis, “Who the hell do you think is going to try to eat _you_ anyway?”

Because yeah, maybe if other Klyntar were to come to Earth somehow – or other aliens – Eddie might find himself back on the menu. If he’s even _off_ the menu where his own symbiote is concerned, that is. But who would –

_Been nearly eaten many times,_ Venom is grumping, another unintended moment of thought-sharing as he zips himself back inside Eddie, and Eddie’s busy thinking

_Shit_ , and feeling a bit bad about it, because the knowledge is suddenly there in his head that, yeah, being a loser, Venom often found himself in situations where he was being half-digested or more by some other Klyntar, or very close to being turned into goo-sushi by some alien race, and for all that his symbiote is determined to make out he’s the toughest badass there is now that Riot's out the way –

He isn’t.

So okay, maybe there’s something to Venom’s paranoia – to his _fear_ , even, although the Klyntar would never admit it – that something’s going to break down their door.

But still. Eddie really would like to stop feeling so bloody on edge all the time as a consequence.

“Hey, it’s all over, buddy,” he says, a bit gentler than he intends to, as he starts to scrub himself up, “Let’s just – enjoy the shower, huh?”

**_Nothing enjoyable about it,_** Venom just has to complain, of course, but Eddie senses him – sort of ease up on his unconscious vigilance a bit after his host gets on with getting them clean, Eddie thinking only about the water soothing his aching muscles, the warmth and the pleasure of getting washed up –

It’s kind of a nice feeling, especially when Venom relents enough to concede that maybe, just maybe, the shower isn't too bad. He also does something inside his host, something like pressing an ‘off’ switch when it comes to those aching muscles in Eddie’s back.

“Phew, thanks bud,” A relieved breath puffing out of him, Eddie smiles down at the suds disappearing into the drain, ”Appreciate it.”

**_Hmph,_** is all Venom responds, but Eddie can hear him thinking, _You’re welcome._

\--

Visiting Anne and Dan’s for dinner is an interesting ball game, and not just because Eddie’s now aware of how het up his symbiote often is; how Venom may be very much top of the food chain on this world, but is still always on the lookout for threat.

Anyway, it’s – weird, catching more and more frequent snippets of Venom’s thoughts. It can be kind of funny at times – like how jazzed he gets by seemingly the most random things, like bunnies and game shows and people smiling at Eddie as they wish him ‘good morning’, and Eddie himself sometimes, for reasons his host has yet to figure out.

It can also, however, be kind of sad.

Now’s one of the times – they’re all lingering over dessert at the table and Eddie’s distracted, chatting to Dan about a scandal going on at the hospital that Dan’s totally not supposed to be hinting to him about, while Anne’s entertaining Venom by telling him of some particularly interesting clients she’s had to represent in court –

**_And you didn’t eat want to eat their heads?_ **

“Oh I did,” Anne’s unconsciously speaking in the voice Eddie used to think of as her ‘purr’ – it used to get him worked up like anything. His concentration still on digging for juicy titbits to sneak into an article however, he barely twitches now. Anne continues, her attention all on Venom, “Believe me, honey, professionalism aside, I’ve secretly wanted to eat one or two of my clients _all_ up, but not in the way you mean.”

**_What_** **does _she mean, Eddie?_** Venom sends his host a curious ping, even as he’s thinking to himself _something sexual?_ mixed with _humans do sometimes engage in cannibalism after all, then?_

Which to the latter Eddie sends back a hasty _No! Not unless they’re completely – Just no!_

And as for Anne’s meaning –

“Tell you later, Vee,” he defers, and Anne grins.

Dan proves he’s tuned in long enough to aim a smitten expression at her, completely unbothered by her confession, and then turns to Venom to offer him more dessert. And Venom –

Is thinking _He could pick up that cake knife and stab Eddie with it, but for some reason he doesn’t._

Which Eddie is personally very relieved by, not that it had ever occurred to him to imagine Dan stabbing him with a cake knife, and –

_Anne knows exactly what my weaknesses are but does not seek to exploit them. Nor did she consume or dismember Eddie when he disappointed her._

Which, _Jesus, Venom_ – Eddie winces internally. Did his symbiote _have_ to think ‘dismember’ –?

**_Yes, I would like some more dessert please Dan,_** Venom is outwardly very politely agreeing, while internally he is all mystified in a way that is sort of cute but that also raises a lump in Eddie’s throat, because his symbiote is thinking

_Why?_

_Why are Anne and Dan – kind to us?_ He struggles with the unfamiliar adjectives, rootling around for them in Eddie’s brain, _To me? Why do they look upon Eddie with, uh – with_ affection _, when he is not part of their imitation symbiosis? Why do they feed us and expect nothing in return? Are they planning to weaken us by taking advantage of our fondness for chocolate cake and then demand later recompense?_

And a more difficult thought to catch, one that Eddie might have missed had he not now been listening carefully –

_Why does Eddie sometimes look possibly affectionately at_ me _? Why would a host do that?_

“Here you go, pal,” Dan passes him his refilled plate.

**_Thank you,_** Venom says graciously, even as he’s grumble-thinking a little into his fifth helping of chocolate cake, _This whole scenario is very weird._

“It’s really not weird, buddy,” Despite himself, Eddie’s eyes are stinging a bit. Because he _knows_ Klyntar was a hell of a planet to grow up on, as it were, and other symbiotes like Riot were a whole ugly barrel of violent non-fun, but he hadn’t expected Venom, even now, to not really know how to identify _friendship_.

Or to think that Eddie only _sometimes_ looks at him with affection. _Possibly._

Damn.

\--

“Hey, you want ice-cream?” he asks when they’re on their way back, walking as neither of them want to bother with the subway, “My treat.”

**_It’s always your treat,_** Venom responds, seeming pleased instead of smug, and he’s not hankering after snacking on bad guys for once – or looking out for some nebulous yet ever present threat. **_Yes please, Eddie._**

A little tentacle loops around Eddie’s wrist, amongst his bracelets, and Eddie doesn’t so much sense Venom’s thoughts this time, but picks up on a surge of fondness from his symbiote that he’s absolutely sure Venom doesn’t intentionally share.

He also doesn’t seem to be trying to hide or deny it, however. The feeling of it makes an answering echo swell in Eddie’s chest and puts a spring in his step.

Now seems as good a time to say it as any.

“You know I like you, right, Vee?” He has to wet his lips, “And Anne and Dan like you as much as they like me.”

**_W-what?_** Venom actually falters, caught off guard, **_Why would you – Of course they like us! What's there not to like?_**

Wow, Eddie never thought he’d experience his goo alien feeling _self-conscious_. Because deep down Venom is thinking an embarrassed, disbelieving and yet painfully hopeful, _Really?_

Smiling, Eddie swallows, “Yeah really, bud. I, ah,” He fiddles with his bracelets in place of playing with that tentacle, “I kind of like you a lot, to tell the truth.”

Any human would know at once what he means.

**_U-uh, okay Eddie,_** Venom simply feels outright baffled, although he gamely pats Eddie on the head with another tentacle, as if this is a response he’s picked up from observing interactions during his time on Earth.

From observing some human with their dog, quite possibly – Eddie snorts at this thought, but he can’t deny that he’s well aware Venom doesn’t consider him a pet.

And that a lot of his symbiote’s paranoia comes not only from probable alien-PTSD, but also from the desire to protect his host from the unknown dangers of a world Venom is still in the process of learning to understand –

That he truly, desperately wants to protect _Eddie_ and fears for just how vulnerable his little human is –

“I’m not that badly off, bud,” Eddie turns a couple of corners, locates a late night ice-cream shop and peruses the menu leisurely, so Venom can take a look. Just in case it’ll be something other than chocolate topped with chocolate topped with even more chocolate he wants, which it won’t.

**_Maybe – we could get a scoop of strawberries and cream as well?_** Venom not only completely unexpectedly rocks the boat by offering, but he suggests _Eddie’s_ favourite flavour, and –

_I like you too, Eddie,_ he’s thinking almost shyly, belatedly reacting to his host’s earlier proclamation, pleasure welling up inside them both until Eddie’s grinning broadly with it. _Just like you like me._

“Yeah, Vee,” Eddie breathes as he pushes open the door to the shop, even though it really isn’t the same in a certain specific way. Or so he's sure. “Come on, we’ll get sprinkles, as well, and a flake.”

The noise of eager anticipation Venom makes in response sends tingles spiralling straight down to Eddie’s toes and –

Damn.

He really is gone for his goo alien, isn’t he.

\--

They fall into bed that night full of dinner plus an immense amount of chocolate cake and ice-cream, and Eddie officially does not ever want to eat anything again – except he knows he’ll feel differently come breakfast time – and he can feel Venom poking about inside him, somewhere in the region of his shoulders.

“What is it?” Mashing his face into the pillow, Eddie slurs.

A sensation of curiosity from his symbiote, **_Your muscles aren’t tense. Without my assistance._**

“Ah no, I’m cool,” Eddie is very pleasantly relaxed, in fact; in the way he’d so wanted to be that time on the couch. He rolls over onto his back to watch his symbiote manifest a head and neck, sensing this as much as seeing it in the dim light from outside coming in through the curtains.

**_But we’re feeling – strange,_** Venom curves slowly over him, and Eddie doesn’t hesitate this time, bringing his hands up to feel ribbons of his symbiote pass through his fingers.

“Think you mean I’m feeling horny, bud,” He only flushes a little at admitting this – it’s been on his mind for _weeks_ and thinking of how relaxed he’s feeling currently only reminds his body how much _more_ so it could be.

**_Horny?_** Venom tips his head and Eddie both laughs and shivers, seeing the Klyntar's tongue whisk across his teeth.

Venom's thinking _Something sexual_ again.

“Yeah detective, you’ve got it,” Yawning, Eddie closes his eyes even as he absently loops a slender tentacle around his fingers, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just rub one out in the shower tomorrow morning; it’s fine.”

**_I’m not worrying about it,_** Venom drifts closer to him. Eddie doesn’t need to see him to know the tip of that tongue is curling centimetres away from his cheek, **_What is it you will rub out in the shower? Is morning obligatory?_**

And he’s thinking, damn it, _Show us now!_

“You haven’t just – you know, read my mind?” Eddie has to enquire, even though he knows Venom hasn’t. Due to a lack of interest, he’d imagined previously, “Why is it you seem to know everything else I’m thinking about, but not this?”

Because he’s _definitely_ thinking about it, very much. On his back like this in bed, Venom looming above him, Eddie’s hand closing over a tentacle as it strokes his dick –

Want feels like it ignites the blood in his veins.

**_You keep thinking very loudly that you want – something; many things – from yourself, from me, with me, with_** **us _, but are concerned that I am not interested in it or do not understand, and might be – displeased,_** his symbiote says a little slowly, as if having to parse this out from the jumbled mess of never-ending thoughts that probably form internal Eddie-speak. **_As such, I thought it – politic to refrain from ‘reading your mind’ about the topic until you were ready to discuss it._**

“Uh,” Eddie’s eyes open themselves up again of their own accord when Venom leans down to press forehead-to-forehead against him, “Okay, I, um. Appreciate that. Thanks.”

_And I_ am _interested,_ his symbiote thinks. And –

**_You’re welcome,_** Venom says politely and then, out loud, **_And I_ **a** m _interested._**

“H-huh, cool. That’s cool,” This is an understatement for sure. A shiver ripples over Eddie’s skin at the thought, his hands burying themselves in his goo alien’s mass of tentacles even as he bites his lip on a gasp, “You know I can hear some of your thoughts, right? That bother you?”

Venom licks his cheek, **_It does not._**

_Trust_ slides between them like a new and inexplicable confession, so strange to Venom he’s almost shaking with it.

Eddie’s almost shaking as well.

“All right then,” His voice comes out quiet in the dark of the room, their breath mingling – and Venom still doesn’t need to breathe, but there’s something appealing about it all the same, about the possibility that Eddie might even one day get to make his symbiote _breathless_ , and –

“Yeah, morning’s so not obligatory,” he grins, “How about now?”

**_Now is good,_** Venom agrees – and that’s eagerness in his voice and in the thoughts and feelings passing between them, and –

Safety.

Venom _feels safe_ with Eddie.

“V-Vee –” Eddie grasps his symbiote’s face in his hands again, his voice thick with emotion, dick not caring how choked up he is – it’s pushing up against his sweatpants, pushing up towards the feeling of Venom above him, inside him – “ _Fuck_.”

**_Hmmm,_** Venom – presses in even closer mentally, until it feels like their thoughts are entwining almost, bodies entwining likewise, tentacles spilling out of Eddie to wind around his limbs and torso, Eddie’s hand diving down under the covers to fish inside his clothes for his dick.

“ _Ah!_ ”

Venom echoes it – **_Ah!_** – and nudges Eddie’s hand into motion either deliberately or by accident – Eddie’s betting the former – and things don’t take that long after that.

**_That. Was. Awesome,_** Venom concludes afterwards, when he’s snuffled around Eddie’s belly and licked him clean.

“Hell yeah,” Eddie beams, now _exactly_ and perfectly the right kind of relaxed, “ _We’re_ awesome, bud.” Letting his symbiote feel all of the affection he has for him, holding nothing back, and Venom –

Venom doesn’t feel the need any more to question it or wonder why. He just sends all of his own fondness back in return.


End file.
